Inventive Diversity and Urban Hierarchy in Brazil

Abstract

Christaller's Theory of Central Places conceives systems of cities in which functions increase as the size of these urban centers expands. This article explores the inventive diversity in Brazil through the patent technological codes from the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and its relationship with the urban hierarchy, based on the concept of Regions of Influence of Cities (REGIC), for the period between 2000 and 2011. In addition to the greater number of patent applications, the larger regions perform not only the functions that are characteristic of smaller areas, but also the less common inventions, with a positive relationship between creative diversity and urban size. This indicates that the hierarchical organization of the city system can be as relevant in determining the categories of invention as the cognitive, institutional, and spatial aspects.